


We Kiss in A Shadow

by cyraclove



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst with a Happy Ending, Cunnilingus, Enthusiastic Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Link speaks, Mutual Pining, Porn with Feelings, Post-Calamity Ganon, Resolved Sexual Tension, Smut, Vaginal Sex, Zelda is Queen, honestly this is probably the most fluff you'll get out of me, post-BOTW, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:35:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27449473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyraclove/pseuds/cyraclove
Summary: Four years after the defeat of Calamity Ganon, Zelda comes face to face with a lie that she never intended to tell about a fateful evening before the end, but only after Link unwittingly discovers her long-forgotten diary hiding on a library shelf.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 320





	We Kiss in A Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> The title is taken from [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le0BvDj1BYM) from Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'The King & I'. I thought that it was very fitting because I'd imagine that Link and Zelda feel like they have to live in the shadow of their pre-calamity lives, and I wanted to explore that. 
> 
> I also listened to [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aYxMuLb3h8) A LOT while writing this because I can pinpoint my sexual awakening to when I watched [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz3TLorKHQg) from 'Benny and Joon'. I feel like it fits really well the last half of the story. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

“Your majesty? Are you alright?”

Zelda’s eyes snapped up from the expansive map of Hyrule pinned to the wooden table before her. She’d been staring at it for so long that the colored lines of the various roads and mountain ranges of her kingdom had begun to blur together, melting into a mess of grey. She shook her head slightly, blinking away the haze of her seemingly constant fatigue. The longer she attempted to ignore it, the worse it got.

“ _Funny how that works_ ,” Link had admonished her just the other day when he’d found her passed out in the library, “ _you get tired if you don’t sleep_.”

She refocused her gaze on the concerned faces of Iko and Ameah, her two closest royal advisors, aside from Impa and Paya. As much as it pained her to admit, Impa was growing much too frail to make the long journey from Kakariko to the castle, and Paya felt a duty to stay and care for her grandmother.

What a strange feeling it was to see such a dear friend nearing the end of her life when they had once been children together, she’d thought. She sometimes felt as though it wasn’t fair.

Without them by her side, Zelda had floundered, having never held an entire country on her shoulders alone. After much insistence from Link, she relented and sought outside help.

“I’m quite well, Iko—thank you,” she finally answered, hand waving in assurance, “I’m just…processing, I suppose.”

Ameah nodded, tossing her dark braid over her shoulder. “It’s certainly a lot to take in. We’ve only just learned of it ourselves.” After an extended silence, the young Hylian raised her eyebrows at her queen, mouth slipping into a frown. “Perhaps we should stop for the evening?” 

Zelda shook her head as she tapped the Gerudo desert with her forefinger. “This takes precedence. I’ll need a courier to send for Riju as quickly as possible. We need an evacuation plan in place long before it even becomes necessary, if ever.”

Rounding the table, Zelda pointed to a pin in the Gerudo Highlands. “Explain to me again just how many we think there might be. You said they call themselves—”

“The Sons of Khoga, your majesty,” Iko responded, clasping his hands behind his back as he often did. “They’ve been very quietly recruiting members for the past year, we’re told. Apparently, there’s some sort of coup in the works, in the name of vengeance for their fallen leader.” His face darkened as his eyes fell from her face to the map.

“Based on multiple eyewitness accounts, we estimate that their ranks have surpassed several hundred.”

“What about a negotiation? Have they demands?”

“I’m afraid that an attempt at a negotiation would prove fruitless,” Ameah replied softly,” it seems that their only demand is…your death, your majesty.”

The room went silent, the air suddenly stagnant. Both advisors watched the queen as she closed her eyes, a deep, audible inhale filling her lungs.

“I see,” Zelda said, her voice just above a whisper. “Very well, then. I suppose if it’s a fight they want, then it’s a fight they’ll have. Send word to Chief Riju at once, please. And do inform Sir Link as quickly as possible.”

Iko and Ameah exchanged looks, almost as though they were mentally drawing straws.

“It would seem,” Iko began hesitantly, “that Sir Link is already… _aware_ of the threat at hand. _Ah_ —your majesty.”

_Of course he is._

“Have you any idea of his whereabouts?” She inquired, trying to curb the tinge of irritation threatening to enter her voice.

“He should be at the stable, ma’am. Shall I send for him?”

“No, I’ll go and find him myself. I could do with a ride, anyway. Thank you, Ameah; Iko. Please, go and get some rest.”

The two bowed cordially and bid her good evening before exiting the room. Their hushed chatter faded as they walked down the hall, leaving the queen alone with only her worry for company.

Zelda let out a weighty sigh, both of her hands gripping the edge of the table more tightly than she’d intended. While she was no stranger to living in constant fear for her life, it was not her life that she was worried about. No, she had no qualms with death. It was a fate that she had stared in the face one too many times. The lives of her people were at stake; the very lives that she and Link had fought to save.

Were the Sons of Khoga to successfully have her head as they so wished, who would prevent the kingdom from succumbing to ruin once more? She had no heir, no successor. No family bloodline to speak of. Relations with some of the realms were already contentious enough, only honoring her queenship because of her mother. It would be next to impossible to convince her people to accept a ruler of her choosing to be next in line for the throne.

And then there was Link.

Storied champion and current Captain of the Guard, Link was certainly heralded by those all across Hyrule. Zelda would have no hesitancy leaving the kingdom in his capable hands, were she to meet an early end. While not the most pleasant scenario to have to consider, it was a plausible one. The one aspect of it that pained her the most was having to _leave him_ at all.

That was a thought for another time.

As she pondered the various ways in which she might broach the subject with him, Zelda made her way down a portrait-lined hallway towards the grand, spiral staircase that led to her bedchamber. She ascended the stairs quickly, striding straight past her ever-enticing four poster bed to fling open her armoire. _Link would make a fine king_ , she thought to herself as she rummaged around for her jodhpurs. He was courageous, diplomatic. Despite being a man of few words, he had a way with people that she had always admired.

Having finally located her riding clothes, Zelda tucked herself behind the paneled partition and began to undress, pulling loose the laces of her gown. Yes, Link was the obvious choice. He was familiar with her advisors and courtiers; he understood the innerworkings of the monarchy. Moreover, he was a kind, understanding man who would go out of his way for even the smallest of tasks that may seem trivial to most. _It’s a shame that we can’t just make him royalty somehow_ , she dismayed as she fastened the buttons on her blouse. _If only there was some way that he could—_

Zelda’s hands froze, a button still pressed between her thumb and forefinger.

_Oh._

She laughed aloud, the resulting noise an odd marriage of a scoff and a gasp. Silently scolding herself for such a thought, she crossed the room to sit on the chaise and pull on her riding boots. It was preposterous, surely. Perhaps she had allowed herself to wonder what it might be like a handful of times, but it hadn’t ever been taken into serious consideration. How she felt about the matter was irrelevant, anyhow. He’d never accept.

She saw the way that her handmaidens brazenly eyed him when they passed him in the courtyard; the painfully obvious way that Ameah held her breath whenever he entered a room. You’d have to be blind not to see the blatant lust in the starry eyes of young women gazing up at him when he rode through Castle Town on horseback. He had his pick of any woman or man in Hyrule, that much was sure.

She knew that she was not among them.

Link had no memory of anything that had happened between them before the calamity. At his insistence, they’d spoken about it at length, and Zelda had gleaned that his preserved memories of her were scant. Withholding the truth from him had torn her apart, the result of her decision being many tearful, sleepless nights. However, she felt it cruel to hold him to promises that he had made in the past and had no recollection of. He deserved whatever kind of life he wanted to lead; whether it included her or not.

Zelda inhaled the crisp, autumn air as she stepped outside and began making her way down the cobblestone pathway to the stables. Stars were just beginning to dot the lavender sky with twinkling pinpricks of white, faint little reminders that the universe was vast. She glanced at the castle, the posterior half that was still in ruins revealing itself as she rounded a bend. Four years had passed since Ganon had met defeat, and much progress had been made. Still, oftentimes she felt like an inordinate amount of work was left to be done; on the castle, the kingdom.

On herself, as sovereign.

A delicate breeze whispered through nearby plum trees, their yellowing leaves rustling softly before fluttering to the ground. Historically, this was Zelda’s favorite time of year. It reminded her of nights spent next to a crackling fire with a book in hand and looking out at misty mornings through frosted windows. She had watched a century of autumns pass from behind a veil of malice, and yet its allure remained. It comforted her that even an infected world had managed to find ways to be beautiful.

The familiar scent of leather and rain-soaked haybales greeted her as she neared the paddock gate, several of the grazing mounts lifting their heads to regard her silently. The sound of hooves on the earth approached as soon as she closed the gate behind her, and a dapple-grey mare trotted in from the field. Zelda smiled at the animal and extended her hand; a whiskered, feather-soft muzzle tickled her palm.

“Hello to you, too, Nymph. You’re looking well, aren’t you?”

The horse chuffed as if in response, eliciting a chuckle from the queen. Zelda ran her hand along Nymph’s neck, marveling as she always did at the sheer power of such a docile creature. She clicked her tongue as she began walking towards the stable’s entrance, beckoning her to follow. They were greeted by Eran, a young stable master’s apprentice who’d come from Akkala to hone his skills as a hostler. He grinned at her warmly, dipping his head in a brief bow.

“Good evening, your majesty. Shall I get her tacked up for you?”

Zelda nodded, thanking Eran as he grabbed a halter from a hook on the wall. “Please, Eran. I hope it’s not too much trouble with it being later in the day. I don’t want to keep you from getting home.”

“Never any trouble for you, ma’am,” he said. Slipping the halter on the mare, he fastened it swiftly and took the lead in hand. “I’ll bring her back around when she’s ready to go.”

“Oh, Eran,” Zelda began, “Have you seen Sir Link recently?”

The young man nodded once. “Yes, ma’am. He left on Eros not too long ago, in fact.” He turned to go, but then paused and snapped his fingers. “Ah! I almost forgot. He told me to tell you something when I saw you.”

Zelda felt a smile tug at her lips. “Oh?”

“Yes, ma’am. He said that he ‘wanted a better view of the castle’. I haven’t the foggiest what that means, but he said that you would.”

 _That man_. He’d known that she would come looking for him and decided to make her trudge across the Regencia River to find him.

“Indeed, I do,” she replied, sucking her teeth. “Thank you for relaying the message, Eran. Please head home after you get Nymph ready. I’ll be out late tonight.”

* * *

It had gotten considerably darker by the time Zelda and Nymph reached Sanidin Park, the moon having made its debut. The night was still, save for the gentle burbling of fountain that stood in the center of the grassy knoll. Nymph carefully clambered up the stairs up to the lookout point, her hooves clacking on the stone. A bright whinny sounded when they reached the top, and Zelda looked over to see a black stallion tossing his head in greeting.

A familiar voice followed, its tone one of jovial amusement.

“Took you long enough, your majesty.”

The corner of Zelda’s mouth quirked up. “I wasn’t the one who chose the meeting location, ser.”

Standing on the wooden walkway that bordered the edge of the park was Link, clad in casual traveling clothes that she rarely saw him in anymore. He made his way towards her, silvery starlight illuminating his face. His eyes were tired, per usual, but beneath them was that impishly handsome smile that she loved so well. She accepted his hand when he extended it, allowing him to help her dismount.

She slid down the side of the saddle as he gripped her waist, turning to face him when her boots thudded to the ground. His hands lingered just a little longer than they typically did, the warmth of his touch staying with her even after he’d let go. A chorus of chittering insects sang as they stood together exchanging quiet hellos. Nymph and Eros appeared perfectly pleased to see one another, snuffling and nuzzling in greeting.

“You’re radiant tonight,” Link said, “Really, just lovely.”

Zelda narrowed her eyes, making a failed attempt at suppressing a grin. “And _you_ are meddlesome.”

He touched his hand to his chest in mock offense.

“Me, your majesty?”

“Yes, you,” she reiterated. “Let’s not pretend that I don’t know just how you get the privileged information that you always seem to have. You really ought to stop interrogating my advisors.” 

“Now, Zelda. Ameah and I had a _conversation_ ,” he said with a point of his finger, “There was tea. I’m fairly certain that they don’t serve tea at interrogations.”

Link began walking back towards the edge of the park, gesturing with hand for Zelda to follow. The went together, strolling side by side. Zelda cleared her throat.

“Speaking of Ameah—you shouldn’t take advantage of that young woman’s feelings for you. It’s a little cruel.”

Link’s brows shot up as he stopped short, turning to stare at her.

“I’m sorry—her _what?_ ”

Zelda scoffed. “ _Oh_. Surely you’ve noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

She couldn’t help but go a little slack jawed. “Link, you cannot be serious. The woman practically melts into a puddle whenever you’re around.”

He blinked, a truly perplexed expression marring his brow. Zelda watched him mentally sort through every single interaction that he’d had with Ameah, reminding herself that this was the man who— _just moments ago_ —she’d considered making king. Chuckling lightly, she began walking again, linking her arm with his.

“You’re oblivious, aren’t you?”

“I’m starting to think so, yes.”

The sprawling landscape of Hyrule stretched out before them when they reached the decking, the stone walls of the castle alabaster in the moonlight. Placing a hand on the railing in front of her, Zelda paused, taking in the grandiosity of it. Smoke rose lazily from chimneys, curling into the pitch of night while candles flickered in distant windows. She wondered whose candles they might be and what sort of life they led. Perhaps a young wife had just put her children to bed with a story and a song; maybe a baker had finally closed up shop for the day, only to wake again at first light and do it over. She wondered if they were happy.

“That’s not a bad match, you know,” Zelda ventured, breaking the silence, “The two of you…are suited to one another.”

He gave her an odd look. “What, Ameah and I?”

Zelda hummed in affirmation. Link’s gaze shifted from the shingled rooftops of Castle Town to her face, searching for a motive.

“Why?”

“Just an observation,” she said with a halfhearted shrug, “I mean, you’ve been somewhat settled now for a year. Maybe you have aspirations beyond…being a knight.”

“I’ve never considered it, I suppose,” he replied after a beat.

“You’ve not considered starting a family?”

“Zelda. What’s this about?”

The change in his tone made the knot in her stomach tighten; she’d been found out. It felt so silly, attempting to skirt around the question she truly wanted to ask—like a schoolchild with a secret crush. She supposed that’s what she was, in a way. Even after all of this time, she could not bring herself to be truthful with even her most trusted friend. The nagging voice of doubt at the back of her mind always prevented her from announcing the confession that resided on the tip of her tongue, threatening escape.

“Well, I was thinking about myself. I suppose. In regard to lineage, I mean. If this vigilante group succeeds, Hyrule is without an heir and—”

“Nothing is going to happen to you, Zelda,” Link interrupted, his voice on edge, “I refuse to let anything happen to you. I don’t like it when you talk like that.”

“I know that you think that, Link, and I have every faith in you. Truly, I do. However, it would be irresponsible to never even consider the possibility.” She saw his jaw set at her words, but he said nothing in response. The slosh of water behind her momentarily drew her attention as one of the horses dipped their head to drink from the fountain. A couple of fireflies bobbed gracefully at Zelda’s feet, hovering just above the grass.

“We are neither of us immortal,” she muttered, “Not anymore.”

His hand covered hers then, his touch setting her skin alight. Their eyes met as his mouth curved into a melancholy smile.

“Maybe not,” he agreed, “but I’d choose death before knowing a life without you again.”

Something jolted in her chest as she quickly diverted her eyes, scrambling for anywhere to look but at Link. While it was not uncommon for him to speak to her this way, she knew that she could never grow accustomed to it. The warm lilt of his voice, the sensation of his hand on hers—the very nearness of him was often accompanied by the overwhelming feeling of wanting to lose herself; to let herself drown beneath the surface of his touch.

When she spoke, her voice was thick, as though mottled by impending tears.

“Link, I—”

“Have I upset you?”

“No, no. I just…even if they don’t succeed, it still begs the question. Shouldn’t I start considering that? Ah, what I mean to say is, maybe it’s time that we— _I mean I_ —”

Link took a tentative step forward, all but closing the already narrow space between them.

“Maybe it’s time that we—?”

“Maybe it’s time that we head back,” she said, her hand slipping from his grasp when she hastily started toward her mount, “It’s really quite late. I’ve already sent for Riju, so we’ll need to receive her when she arrives in the morning.”

The hopeful air that surrounded Link dissipated as he nodded curtly, following her lead and clucking his tongue for Eros. The stallion responded right away, trotting back up to meet him after having wandered out to graze where the grass grew tall. They mounted their respective steeds wordlessly, making the journey back to the castle in a similar fashion. Zelda could not ignore the guilt that rose in her throat like bile, vile and viscous.

If time travel were an option, she would have gone back to avoid bringing the subject up at all.

* * *

By the time Link and Zelda had untacked and stabled the horses, the slight ache in Zelda’s lower back had gone from agitating to distractingly painful. She waved off Link’s concerned inquiries about it as they made the uphill trek to the castle and insisted that it was nothing to fret over when he asked her yet again as they neared her bedchamber. It had been ceaseless for the past month or so and typically came with an identical ache in the soles of her feet.

“You’re working too hard,” Link chided as he helped her ascend the winding staircase, “have you written to Impa about sending those herbs from Kakariko?”

“I haven’t,” she admitted, “I haven’t had time. And I hate to trouble her. She has her own health to worry about.” Zelda sighed as she sank down onto the chaise, letting her head fall back onto the cushions and closing her eyes. After having not had an actual body to inhabit for over one hundred years, she’d forgotten how wonderful it felt to simply _sit down_. She opened her eyes when she felt a tug at her boots.

“You don’t have to do that,” she told Link, now kneeling before her and working to remove her shoes. He did not respond, attention focused on the tight laces.

“I’ll stop over in Kakariko on my way back and get the herbs for you,” he said, “You really ought to do something about the pain as soon as possible.” 

Zelda furrowed her brow. “On your way back from _where?_ ”

He stilled momentarily. “I have…business to attend to. Something about new bokoblin nests in the east and a few moblin sightings near the coast. It won’t take long.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it,” she said, an uncomfortable feeling of suspicion in her gut. Zelda pursed her lips.

Link shifted, still refusing to look at her. “It’s more my jurisdiction than yours,” he noted.

“ _Link_.”

“Zelda, is it or is it not _my job_ to protect you?”

“It is, but things are different now. You have an entire army at your disposal; you don’t need to charge into battle alone anymore.”

Link was quiet, save for a soft huff accompanied by a sad smile. He continued to remove her boots, his fingers brushing the bottom of her foot as he slid the left one off. The right boot followed, his hand resting on her calf. His eyes flickered up to hers.

“Old habits die hard, I suppose.” He stood after giving her leg an affectionate squeeze, causing a tiny spark to zip up her spine. “You should rest now.”

“Link, promise me that you won’t do anything reckless.”

“Promise me that you’ll sleep.”

Zelda shook her head. “It seems that we’ve arrived at a bit of a stalemate, ser,” she chuckled, earning a smirk from the young man.

“So it seems, your majesty.”

With a wide, dramatic sweep of his arm, he bowed theatrically low. Zelda laughed, rolling her eyes.

“I do so tire of that, you know.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t stopped doing it.”

A beat.

“Goodnight, Link.”

“Goodnight. Do at least try to close your eyes, alright?”

And with that, he turned on his heel and made his way out. Zelda listened to his footfalls on the stairs until they had completely faded away, leaving nothing more than an empty echo. She lay on the chaise in her riding clothes for a long while afterwards, running through all of the things that they’d left unsaid. She wondered if they were doomed to live in this façade of feigned normalcy forever, going their entire lives without truly knowing what they meant to one another.

When she finally stood, her knees protested loudly, and a sharp prickle of pain twinged in her back. She undressed slowly, padding across the room in only her smallclothes to retrieve the nightdress that had been laid out on the bed. Calyn, her lady’s maid, had already been by to turn down the bed and stoke the fire, she noted. She felt somewhat grateful for the lack of interaction; an unusual respite from the pleasantries. Calyn was perfectly kind, but Zelda couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved that she’d been away when the young woman had made her nightly rounds.

The thin gown in her hands, she stopped when she caught a glimpse of herself in her vanity mirror. Even after years, looking at her nakedness still gave her a sense of foreboding, almost as though it would not be long before she lost it again. It felt alien at times, having a body to inhabit. She ran her fingertips over the skin of her stomach, caressing the fading scars there. She often thought that she looked like the human embodiment of a mosaic; assorted shards of broken glass stitched together to maintain the appearance of being whole.

Shaking off the feeling, she tore herself away from the mirror and slipped the nightgown on. She selected a heavily tattered book from her shelf before again settling onto the chaise, tucking her legs beneath her as she flipped through the pages to find where she’d left off. The book of poems had been a recent discovery from a dust-covered crate that he been left unopened. She’d kept it a sort of secret, something that was hers to enjoy alone. Mostly love poems, the words comforted her, despite being a departure from the typical texts that she chose to read.

Idyllic proclamations and valiant promises that she’d never hear, she thought. Nevertheless, she allowed herself to get lost in them under cover of night.

_‘...and even after darkest night, faithful dawn will break anew. As sated lovers face the light, the starlit sky gives way to morning dew._

_With mirthful thanks I greet this morn as in the sun I stand, for from your love is earth reborn and shaped by thine own hand_ _.’_

Zelda startled at the stomp of heavy footsteps, the sound of someone hurriedly ascending the staircase. She turned to see Link standing at the top of the stairs, chest heaving. He had a bewildered look in his eyes that she’d not seen before, one that made her nerves knot. He stared at her for a moment, seething in silence. In his trembling hand was her tattered, leather-bound journal.

Not the one in which she kept field notes and experimental findings, but the _other_ —the one that she’d not seen since before the end. Despite her tireless searching, she’d been unable to locate it.

Until now.

“Where did you find that?”

Zelda’s jaw tensed as she breathed the question, a sickening feeling coiling in her gut.

“Link,” she whispered, “ _where did you find that?_ ”

“The library,” he bit out. Zelda felt a thick lump form in her throat, suffocating any response she may have had. The library. It must’ve been mistaken for a regular tome, slipped onto a shelf during the reconstruction without another thought. Neither spoke for a moment, the lonely crackling of the fireplace filling the tense silence.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her veins turned to ice, his words tearing into her chest.

_No, no, no. Please, no._

“I can’t say that I know what you’re talking about.”

Link scoffed, tilting his head. She saw his grip on the diary visibly tighten as he spoke. “Don’t be coy, Zelda. It’s all right here.”

The queen’s pulse hammered in her ears as she frantically scrambled for words. “I don’t know what you think you read, Link, but you shouldn’t ha–”

“Let’s jog your memory, then.”

To Zelda’s horror, Link cracked the spine of the journal and flipped it open, thumbing the pages until he found what he was looking for. He began to read aloud, his voice bitingly cold.

“ _I cannot seem to erase that night at the Spring of Power from my mind. While I do not feel regret in the slightest, I do wonder if we’ve opened a door that we’ll be unable to close…_ ”

“Stop. Stop it this instant.”

“ _Should I have allowed myself to give in to such lust? Though not baseless, it feels irresponsible to have done something so intimate in such a sacred place. However, I would not change it for–_ ”

Zelda bolted from the chaise and tore towards him, knocking the diary from his hands with fierce animosity. It tumbled to the stone floor with a loud _smack_ , the pages bending and crumpling as it landed face-down. Zelda met Link’s gaze, their faces mere inches apart.

“I said, _stop_.”

The air hung heavy between them as Zelda daggered the hero with her eyes. She was steeled for his next move, a sour, stinging retort poised on her tongue. Instead of challenging her further, Link sighed softly, his shoulders falling as he pulled away; the anger left his stormy eyes, giving way to melancholy.

“You lied to me,” he said, “I asked…I asked that you be honest with me about everything that happened between us. And you lied.” His mouth twisted beneath his knitted brow.

“Why?” 

Zelda’s heart clenched at the evident ache in his tone. The last thing that she had intended when she’d decided to withhold the truth from him was to cause any more pain. She swallowed hard, eyes closing for a brief moment.

“Link,” she said, “we were _children_.” She paused to comb her fingers through her hair. “You have to understand. We’d been apart for _so long_. I didn’t know if you remembered me at all. It’s only natural to assume that, after all of that time, you’d found…someone else.”

Something akin to heartache marred his features. He cast his gaze downward but said nothing, his only response a soft shake of his head. Firelight flickered across his face, bathing the delicate curve of his jawline in amber. Just as Zelda opened her mouth to end the agonizing reticence, he moved towards her, again closing the space between them.

A shiver skittered up her spine when she suddenly felt his touch on her skin. Taking her hand, his fingertips trailed along the inside of her forearm before he closed both of his hands around hers. His face softened as he raised it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles. Zelda felt her breath hitch as she stifled a gasp.

“Link…”

“I want to know what happened,” he said, eyes flicking up to hers, “everything that happened.”

Zelda nodded shakily. It was only right.

“Of course,” she managed, “I’ll tell you everything.”

His face inched towards hers until their lips were a hairsbreadth apart. Zelda felt herself quiver with anticipation as her breath mingled with his, the memory of his mouth on hers plaguing her more intensely than it had for the past century.

“No,” he murmured, “ _show me_.”

Time slowed, every millisecond and hour’s equivalent. Every inhale Zelda took was a deafening rush of static in her ears, each suffocating exhale louder still. She studied Link’s face as they stood together, the room around them melting away. They existed in their own parallel moment in time, a minuscule sliver of universe of their own creation.

_This couldn’t be happening._

“We—we can’t,” she stammered, the beat of her heart thundering throughout her entire being.

“There’s no one to tell us what we can and can’t do anymore. It’s just you and me.”

“Link—”

“I ache for you, Zelda,” he breathed, his sentence ending with a hard swallow. “I ached for you before I even truly knew who you were. You were always there, a part of me, and yet always out of my reach.”

“All this time…” she whispered, an unmistakable tremor in her voice.

“I’ve been a damned fool,” he said, “too overcome by cowardice to just tell you the truth.”

Zelda’s breathing shallowed, her thoughts nothing more than a deafening buzz.

“And the truth?”

“Is that I want you,” he confessed. His eyes bore into hers, the tension between them pulling ever tighter. He sucked in a lengthy breath before asking,

“Do you want me?”

“Yes,” she said, barely audible, “Oh, yes.”

His lips were warm against hers, his kiss gentle yet commanding; an underlying urgency veiled by sweet tenderness. Zelda let her eyes close as her arms instinctively circled his neck. Link clutched her to his chest, his hands on her back bringing their bodies flush with one another. Like a memory from a dream, Zelda felt both her mind and body harken back to the first time she had kissed him.

Somehow, over a century later, she was kissing him again.

However, this was not the same tentative boy that had placed breathy kisses onto her bare shoulders and blushed at the mere sight of her thighs. No, this was a man with weary eyes and a battle-worn heart who knew exactly what he wanted.

She heard Link inhale sharply when she let her tongue dart out to tease his bottom lip. He hungrily captured her mouth with his, seeking her tongue with his own. Zelda whimpered and clawed her fingers into his hair, knees buckling as a rush of heat flooded her core.

“Should we— _ah_ —the,” her attempt at speech was thwarted by his mouth wandering down to her neck, leaving searing kisses on her skin.

Zelda could feel his calloused fingertips tracing the lines of her hipbones through her filmy nightdress, head swimming when she allowed her mind to wander to the memory of her naked hips in his firm grasp.

“The bed,” she finally managed, her voice an airy gasp.

He nodded, and suddenly she was in his arms. Zelda yelped softly in surprise as he hoisted her up, one arm beneath her legs and the other securely at her back. He gingerly sat her on the edge of the bed, his hands on either side of her as he leaned down to take her lips once more. She felt dizzy, the intoxicating taste of him like drinking brandy after a walk in the snow.

She parted her knees to allow him to settle his hips in between her thighs, breath hitching when she felt his erection straining against his trousers. She froze, the sheer size of it catching her off guard.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he breathed, breaking the kiss to move back a bit, “I didn’t mean to—”

“No,” she said, coaxing him back towards her, “Let me feel you. I want to.”

Link let out a growl, a feral sound from somewhere deep within his chest. Again, he allowed Zelda to wrap her legs around him as he stood before her, his rigid length rubbing against the vulnerable flesh between her legs. She moaned, damning the barrier of fabric that separated them. She’d long craved the fire that coursed through her when he kissed her. He groaned into her mouth when she reached a hand beneath his tunic.

She tugged at it then, eagerly encouraging that it be removed. She felt him smile against her lips before he pulled it over his head, haphazardly discarding it on the floor.

 _Oh_ , he was beautiful.

She drank him in, the firelight licking at the scars that covered his shoulders, his arms; sculpted by the wilds and worn by war. Zelda met his gaze as she reached forwards, splaying her fingers over the hard ridges of his abdomen, reveling in how it felt to touch him this way again.

Being careful not to let her eyes leave his, she rolled up the hem of her gown. The silky material slid easily over her head, grazing her pert nipples as it dragged across her breasts. She watched Link’s eyes traverse her nearly naked body, clouded with obvious want. Hesitantly, Zelda trailed her fingers over the outline of his stiff cock, a prideful swell in her chest when he shuddered beneath her touch.

“May I?” she asked. He nodded, managing a weak _‘of course’_ as he studied her nimble hands unfasten his belt. Now able to grasp his cock, Zelda wrapped her hand around it as she pulled it free, eyes widening as she sized him up. Something fervent stirred inside of her at the sight of him, hard and weeping. She swiped the throbbing head with her thumb, the heady, male scent of him making her ache with emptiness.

He cursed aloud, gritting his teeth.

“No good?”

“No, _very good_ ,” he groaned, attempting a smile. “I’d like to take a moment to go ahead and apologize to you in advance.”

“What? Whatever for?”

“I’m afraid that this isn’t going to take very long.”

Zelda _giggled_ then, biting her lip. She kissed his chest as she kept on with her hand, adding pressure as she stroked him. He bucked up into her grip, one hand at the back of her head. She played with rhythm and movement until she heard his satisfied gasps, memorizing and repeating the patterns that made him twitch against her palm. Link caught her hand with his after a moment, kissing her deeply before kneeling in place, his head now nestled at the apex of her thighs.

Her head spun, the unfamiliar sensation of his hot breath on her sex making her toes curl. The only thing barring his mouth from her cunt was the soaked silk of her undergarment. She cried out when his nose brushed her clit, a warm kiss following close behind. She heard him mutter something unintelligible, his voice hoarse and heavy as he hooked a finger into the hem of her underwear.

_Was he really going to—_

“Um, I,” Zelda tried, wracking her brain for any coherent speech, “You didn’t, uh—”

Link looked up from his task, hands pausing. “Should I stop?” He asked, sincere.

Zelda shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to stop. I just…you didn’t do this last time. Before, I mean. We didn’t, I mean _you_ didn’t…we’ve never done _this_.”

She saw him grin before lightly kissing the inside of her thigh. Slowly, he peeled the damp fabric down and around her legs, letting the garment join his tunic on the floor. Zelda quivered as his plush lips grazed her folds.

“Pity, that,” he said, no louder than a whisper.

Zelda’s vision blurred when he closed his mouth around her, tongue lightly circling the slickened peak of her sex. _Oh, Goddess._ She involuntarily arched up against his mouth, chasing the exquisite friction. He _moaned_ , pulling away from her with a lewd smack.

“Fuck, you’re delicious.”

Raw, unfettered lust took over then, and Zelda gently pushed his head back down with a strained plea for _more_. His response was more than enthusiastic, one arm curving around her thigh while the other reached upwards to toy with her breast. She whined as he licked a flat, hot stripe along the outside of her cunt before splitting her with his tongue. Zelda squirmed beneath him, whispering breathless encouragement as she tugged at his hair. It wasn’t long before she went rigid with blissful heat, sparks of white dancing in her eyes.

”Link, I’m— _oh_ —“

Link shifted upwards to cover her body with his, languidly pumping into her with his fingers while he kissed her through her orgasm. She tasted herself on his lips, the sweet tang of it driving her over the edge. Zelda wilted in his embrace, panting as Link peppered kisses onto her face, her neck, her collarbones. He leaned her back so that she lay flat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling with unseeing eyes.

“Are you alright?”

“There are several words for how I’m feeling at the moment,” she answered, “and I think ‘ _alright’_ might be just a bit of an understatement.”

Link smiled, bringing his mouth to hers again. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing him in. _Salt and cedar_. How odd it was, she thought, for something to feel so novel and so like a homecoming all at once. He hummed contentedly, bringing his hand up to comb his fingers through her hair.

“We don’t have to do anything else,” she heard him say, “we can just leave it at that for tonight.”

“Ser,” Zelda began, her voice a sly lilt, “I was under the impression that you wanted me to show you what happened.”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Did you not want to know _everything_ that happened?” She inquired. Her hand slipped between their bodies, grinning when she heard a sharp intake of breath. “We’ve not quite gotten to everything yet.”

“You have no mercy, do you?”

“Off with these,” Zelda chuckled as she made a failed attempt at tugging his trousers the rest of the way down. They’d been clumsily stuck around his thighs the entire time, and she was more than ready to see them go.

“I’ll need to stand up, I think,” Link said with a laugh as he fumbled with his clothes.

“Oh, very well. Do hurry, though.”

“As her majesty commands,” he drawled.

Zelda propped herself up on her elbows to watch him undress, hungrily taking in the sight of his powerful frame. While a man of smaller stature, he was impressive, all sharp lines and taut muscle. They regarded one another’s naked figures in the dim light before Zelda moved back to make more room for him, a silent invitation to join her. Link carefully climbed over her, resting his elbows on either side of her head.

“Were we like this?” He asked quietly, “The first time.”

“Yes,” she replied, “just like this.”

Sudden consternation colored his expression, brow knitting as he considered an unspoken query.

“You really don’t regret it?”

“No. Just like I won’t regret this,” she said, bringing her hand to his cheek, “The only thing I regret is that we waited so long.”

Link hummed in agreement, turning his head to press a kiss into her palm. “No more waiting, then.”

“No more waiting.”

He kissed her as he reached down to guide himself, lining up with her entrance. He hissed through his teeth as he eased into her, sheathing just the swollen head of his cock. Zelda took a deep breath through her nose, tensing a bit at the intrusion. With another shift, another inch of him became hers. Zelda’s head fell back, a moan caught in her throat.

“Good?”

The question was a shaky exhale, a request for permission to continue. She felt his hips falter a bit, his resolve beginning to founder. She nodded desperately, almost ashamed at just how little time it had taken him to rekindle the flame of her arousal. She was ravenous again after having come undone mere moments before. She rolled her hips forward, his cock sinking further in. With one more heavy slide, he was buried to the hilt.

“Oh, _fuck_ , Zel.”

“Move,” she gasped, “Oh, _Goddesses_ , please move.”

He obliged her, thrusting into her wet sex, slick walls clenching around his length. The initial pain that had spiked in her abdomen quickly melted into waves of blissful relief from how full he made her feel. Feeling him slide against every intimate ridge of her was as overwhelming as it was thrilling, her mind working overtime to process each sensation. Feeling a familiar flutter mounting in her lower belly, Zelda tried to wedge a hand between them to no avail.

“Let me,” she heard Link rasp, lifting up just enough in order to position his thumb on her clit. He rubbed in torturous circles, eliciting a rapturous sob from Zelda when he began to pump into her again. They moved easily together, matching the other’s pace as the throbbing promise of release drew ever closer. She could feel him trembling above her, and knew that he was delaying his own to allow hers. His head fell to her neck as he murmured his adoration in her ear, his thumb continuing its sinful assault.

A strangled moan escaped Zelda’s throat as she began to feel the crest of her climax. Her nails dug into Link’s shoulders as she withered underneath him, a feverish euphoria taking over her as she broke for a second time, her cunt convulsing around his girth. Almost too enraptured for coherent thought, she barely heard Link say her name; he sounded muffled, as though calling to her from far away.

“Look at me, Zelda,” he pleaded, “Please, love, I want to see your face.”

They locked eyes right as he reached his peak; his thrusts became erratic and he groaned out something that sounded vaguely like her name as he spilled inside of her. Link slowed, letting his forehead rest against hers as they came down from their respective highs, allowing the pleasure to consume them and render them listless. When he eased off of her, he rolled onto his side to face her, pulling her into him as much as he could. He wore a weary grin, damp wisps of blonde hair clinging to his cheeks.

“I told you it wasn’t going to take very long,” he said. Zelda let out an airy laugh, taking his face in her hands to kiss him lazily. They laid together for a long while, fingers trailing along flushed cheeks as they spoke in hushed tones about nothing and everything all at once. In those moments just afterwards, it was as if they’d never been apart a single day.

When the sun eventually peeked pinkish, early-morning rays in through the windows, they reluctantly rose to clean themselves up and redress for bed, all the while knowing that they’d get no more than a few hours of sleep. They crawled beneath the covers, nevertheless, quickly falling into a dreamless sleep with their fingers intertwined.

* * *

Zelda awoke to the sound of voices in the hall. She blinked her eyes open, grimacing at the audacity of the sun to be so damned bright. Propping herself up on her elbow, she winced at the little strains and pulls in her belly, a subtle reminder that last night hadn’t been a dream. She sat up when she realized that Link was not in bed beside her, suddenly alert. Her heartbeat ticked up when she found him nowhere else in her room.

“ _No, I will. Yes, thank you. I’m sure that she is_.”

The sound of his voice floated up the stairs, and she heaved a relieved sigh. It wasn’t long before he was at the top of the stairs, grinning brightly at her, a silver tray in his hands. She cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Was that Calyn I heard downstairs?” She asked.

Link nodded with a glimmer of a smirk, setting the tray down on a small, circular table that sat near the arched window. “It was. She didn’t say much, really. She was curious to know why I was commandeering your breakfast, though.”

“And did you tell her?”

“That I made vigorous love to the queen last night? No,” he grinned, “I decided to leave that part out. That’s something that could be considered _privileged information_ , I think.”

Zelda laughed out loud, smiling wider than she had in weeks. “I have to agree with you, ser. That was wise.”

“Only the brightest in your employ, ma’am,” he quipped, shooting a wink in her direction. Link pulled out one of the chairs that sidled up to the small table before lifting a gilded cup in offering. “Coffee?”

“Oh, please,” Zelda replied, swinging her legs off of the bed and rising to join him. She sat down and watched him pour her drink, relishing in the scent as the steaming cup was filled to the brim. She thanked him when he handed it to her, dipping his head to kiss her before taking his own seat. The simple gesture felt intimately casual, like they’d been making love and then drinking coffee together every morning of their lives. Zelda smiled against the rim of her cup, a warm glow spreading throughout her chest.

The two chatted idly as they ate, nothing coming up that was any more pressing than whether or not Link wanted more butter on his scone (he did). Zelda nursed her third cup of coffee as she looked out the window, watching the kingdom wake up outside. She caught a glimpse of Link out of the corner of her eye, studying her as though memorizing her features.

“You look pensive,” she mentioned.

“You’re beautiful. I’m simply admiring you.”

Zelda reached across the table to place her hand over his. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Link twined his hand with hers. “I’m just wishing that this could last longer, I suppose.” His eyes flicked up to meet hers. “I don’t want to go back to the way we were before.”

“Why do you think that we will?”

He shrugged. “Some nonsense about duty, most likely. I don’t know all the strictures; there are rules aren’t there?”

“Perhaps, but I do get to have a say in most of them,” she reminded him, “I _am_ the queen.”

“That you are,” he murmured, something sweet and unspoken in his eyes. “Tell me, then; what is the will of Her Majesty the Queen?”

“Well,” she began, taking yet another cube of sugar and dropping it in her cup, “there is the matter of my successor.”

Link’s face twisted into a frown, his grip on her hand tightening. “Zelda, I already told you that _nothing is going to happen to you_. I won’t allow it.”

“No one mentioned anything about _dying_ ,” she scolded him in jest, “I’ll need someone to eventually prepare to take the throne, won’t I?”

“Yes, naturally. That’s an entirely different matter, though, isn’t it? I mean, if you wanted to continue the bloodline, you’d need a—”

“A king,” she finished for him.

He nodded once, absentmindedly sipping his coffee. “Right, so that he could father an heir. That won’t be too difficult, I don’t think.”

“No, I don’t think so, either,” she agreed, “If last night is any indication, I’d say that we’re certainly capable.”

Link stilled, his eyes darting towards her as the implication of her suggestion began to dawn on him. A jittery anticipation made Zelda’s stomach flip as she waited for his response, a voice in the back of her mind scolding her for making such a forward proposal. A giddy little grin found its way onto Link’s face as he looked at her in disbelief.

“Is that what you want?” He asked, an unusual softness to his voice.   
  
“I want you,” she responded, “If you’ll have me.”

Raising her hand to his lips, he pressed a kiss to her knuckles, just as he had the night before.

“No more waiting,” he murmured.

Zelda beamed.

“No more waiting.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my little foray into the Zelink universe. While not my typical ship, I so enjoyed writing these two and giving them the ending that they deserve. Thank you so much for giving my writing a chance. Please, never hesitate to let me know what you think; I love to hear it. 
> 
> If you like, come join me on Tumblr for more BOTW fun @ cyraclove.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! !
> 
> P.S. -- Please excuse an errors, I am a zombie currently


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